More on Driftwood

This is a discussion on More on Driftwood within the Beginner Freshwater Aquarium forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
So now my post about the driftwood has changed to:
How can I remove some of the tea-staining in the water? I know the ...

How can I remove some of the tea-staining in the water? I know the obvious answers are to change the water, but I will be changing out a lot of water. The other answer is to remove the driftwood, but since I've put it in there, the snail and the shrimp are very happy. I still haven't had my pleco come out though!!

You'll find that the water is stained for quite a while, but it will eventually fade. I think mine took a couple of months to clear completely.
Some people like the look of tannins in the water, I didn't really mind but found it was a pain when trying to take clear photographs.

I just figured out what bothers me about the tannins. I have the tank in my kitchen, and it sits against a very bright white wall, so that is the backdrop. It really makes any colors in the water stand out, which can make it look very unattractive. The plants even reflect light at night to make the water look green! If I slip a piece of black or blue paper behind it, it doesn't look so bad. I may have to invest in a backdrop for it.

I paint the outside back glass of all my tanks with black craft paint. It gives a nice solid dark background that really makes the colours of the plants and fish pop... and makes the fish feel much more secure. Plus, it can be scraped off easily with a razor blade if i ever decide to change it.

I paint the outside back glass of all my tanks with black craft paint. It gives a nice solid dark background that really makes the colours of the plants and fish pop... and makes the fish feel much more secure. Plus, it can be scraped off easily with a razor blade if i ever decide to change it.

My tanks are acrylic, so there won't be any scraping. I'll probably get one of those plastic "cling-like" backdrops. They're pretty cheap. I like the black also. The colors really do pop.